BERLIN – The Berlin-based revival of Ellesse has reached the brick-and-mortar phase with the opening of the first new Ellesse flagship here.
The once mighty Italian sportswear brand, founded in Perugia in 1959, is being given an upscale push by Consule, a licensing and distribution company based in Zagreb. Early this year, Consule set up the design and sales/business headquarters for its new Ellesse offensive in Berlin.
The 1,075-square-foot store in the trendy Hackesche Markt section of Mitte has a gym-like flair, with bare concrete walls, baby blue linoleum floors, simple light wood shelving and multi-colored tubular clothes racks that look like a cross between playground and athletic equipment.
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“In today’s world you have to be playful. People need some fun,” Ivan Herjavec, Consule’s founder and chief executive, said of the store’s design.
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On offer are apparel and sneakers from the Ellesse Heritage collection and reworked logo T-shirts by the Berlin-based Danish designer trio Wood Wood, the first of many Ellesse Heritage “special projects.”
Further stores are planned in Munich, Hamburg and Dusseldorf through 2012, while this year, pop-ups will be staged at XTC in Nuremberg November 22-31 and at Shinzo in Paris starting December 1. Ellesse Heritage merchandise is also set to sell online as of next week.
Ellesse is currently licensed in more than 40 countries worldwide, and Consule is the licensee partner for 22 of them. Herjavec is enthusiastic about the brand’s potential, noting “in 1989, Ellesse was the second most popular Italian brand, after Benetton. And it was a $350 million business, just in the U.S.,” he exclaimed.
There are three Ellesse collections in place: Ellesse Heritage, Ellesse Italia and Ellesse Performance, but the main focus of Herjavec’s Ellesse comeback strategy is the new premium Ellesse Heritage collection. Distribution will be limited to 500 doors globally.
Designed by Mauro Massarotto (apparel) and Patrizio Carlucci (footwear), the apparel is produced in Europe and positioned to compete with the “other premium heritage sportswear brands,” according to operations director Martin Purwin. At current exchange, this translates into retail price points for fall of about $350-$475 (250-350 euros) for jackets, $97-$120 (70-85 euros) for polos, and about $140 (100 euros) for shoes.
Eighty percent of the men’s and women’s Heritage range is based directly on iconic Ellesse pieces, such as the Maurice high tops which feature the Ellesse name worked into the multi-color design. Or the Marathon 84 runners, commemorating Ellesse’s first sponsorship of the N.Y. marathon in 1984, which was fittingly won by an Italian.
Now in store, the chevron-striped ski vest is a classic, as are the men’s and women’s signature polos, sweatshirts and velour separates. And there are notable fit-for-a-princess styles, such as a ribbed pink knit cap that’s identical to the one worn by young Caroline of Monaco, or the pearl gray and baby blue nylon ski jacket that Princess Di donned on the slopes.
Indeed, celebrities are a key part of the Ellesse heritage, the logo often seen on royalty and jet setters including King Hussein of Jordan and Mohammad Ali. Chris Evert, Boris Becker, Guillermo Vilas, Marc Giradelli and Stefano Casiraghi were among the tennis, ski and Formula One champions to sport the brand.
But for Herjavec, the real Ellesse celebrity is founder Leonardo Servadio, now 85, and his children. Daughter Michaela acts as a brand ambassador.
The high tech Ellesse Performance ski collection will make its trade debut at Ispo in January 2011. And for fashionistas on the run, Ellesse will also be bringing out high-heeled running shoes in the new year.